“Americans weren’t the only ones closely watching U.S. midterm results. Much of the world was too, including Russia. A Democratic House will complicate Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cut deals with President Trump.”

“A lot has changed since [Trump and Putin] last met in Helsinki in July – and not in Russia’s favor, according to much of Russia’s foreign policy community. They have come to regard contact with … Trump as toxic for … Putin, after a storm of post-Helsinki recriminations in the U.S. media painted the U.S. president as a Kremlin stooge and Congress ramped up sanctions on Moscow. Later, the White House announced that it will pull out of the … INF treaty. … Then … U.S. midterm elections brought Trump’s Democratic opponents roaring back into control of the House …. [P]unishing Russia is one of the few areas of strong bipartisan consensus. …. [Yet Democrats] will be in a more effective position to challenge any Moscow-friendly initiatives ….”